I also hate baby talk in all forms. If you are not talking to a baby/toddler, then do not talk like one. It is not "cute" or "endearing". Trust me.

How about an animal?

Thought of a new one for me: First world problem. It implies that just because I don't live somewhere that I could be taken from the street and impressed into military service at age ten, that no problem I have is of any consequence.

Same thing... Is it a puppy/kitten/foal/calf/chick/etc? Then I think that baby talk is borderline acceptable. (I say borderline because while my cats may be my "babies" they are not actually "babies" and they are certainly not "furbabies")

I just think that baby talk demeans both the speaker and the listener. Plus (all former English majors stand up!) it seriously grates on my ears, to the point where I have difficulty listening to it.

And I agree with you about "first world problem". Which reminded me of another of mine... "privileged". Because I am not poor/disabled/a minority then I can't voice an opinion? And my problems don't matter as much? (Honestly, I think that I have been hanging out on feminist boards too much lately.)

I also hate baby talk in all forms. If you are not talking to a baby/toddler, then do not talk like one. It is not "cute" or "endearing". Trust me.

How about an animal?

Thought of a new one for me: First world problem. It implies that just because I don't live somewhere that I could be taken from the street and impressed into military service at age ten, that no problem I have is of any consequence.

And I agree with you about "first world problem". Which reminded me of another of mine... "privileged". Because I am not poor/disabled/a minority then I can't voice an opinion? And my problems don't matter as much? (Honestly, I think that I have been hanging out on feminist boards too much lately.)

Well...if you aren't poor/disabled/a minority then to voice an opinion about something related to any of those groups would be taken less seriously. It's a "walk a mile in their shoes" type of thing. I can't speak to being a member of "x" group, so I'm not qualified to say how "x" group should feel about "y" issue. Yeah, I can voice my opinion, but it's not going to mean as much being someone who hasn't lived/experienced the issue firsthand.

I also hate baby talk in all forms. If you are not talking to a baby/toddler, then do not talk like one. It is not "cute" or "endearing". Trust me.

I just think that baby talk demeans both the speaker and the listener. Plus (all former English majors stand up!) it seriously grates on my ears, to the point where I have difficulty listening to it.

This! This is what I mean about "yummy" and "nummy" and other such words coming from adults. You're an adult. Talk like one. It even grates on my nerves when someone talks baby talk to my dogs or cats.

Also, another one that bothers me is "As a *insert group*. Mostly I hear "As a parent *opinion on something non-parent related*". Just because I've chosen not to have kids does not make your opinion more valid than mine. Specifically, there was an article about an avenue in my town that is well-known for its bar scene. Men urinating in the gutters, alleys and sidewalks after the bars closed and they were on their way home/waiting for taxis had become a problem to the point where the city decided to install permanent free-standing enclosed public urinals along the avenue to cut down on the problem. One woman objected" As a parent, I don't want my three-year-old son to see that." See...what? A urinal? And what would you be doing on the avenue at three in the morning with your toddler? Being a parent doesn't really have anything to do with anything in this particular case.

This! This is what I mean about "yummy" and "nummy" and other such words coming from adults. You're an adult. Talk like one. It even grates on my nerves when someone talks baby talk to my dogs or cats.

I've come to love the word "nummy" because I can no longer hear it without thinking of Sheldon Cooper and his Meemaw

I don't know if they'd qualify as trendy but "could/would/should of" instead of could/would/should have". It's like fingernails on a blackboard.

Well...if you aren't poor/disabled/a minority then to voice an opinion about something related to any of those groups would be taken less seriously. It's a "walk a mile in their shoes" type of thing. I can't speak to being a member of "x" group, so I'm not qualified to say how "x" group should feel about "y" issue. Yeah, I can voice my opinion, but it's not going to mean as much being someone who hasn't lived/experienced the issue firsthand.[/quote]

I think the problem is that some people take it too far- because you're a part of a "privileged" group, none of your problems are as valid or worthy of concern. I remember a discussion on some "social awareness" site, where the OP was lamenting the state of public transit in her area, namely a huge problem with sexual harassment. Offhand, she admitted to being what would be considered attractive, as if she had to apologize for being "pretty privileged". The whole discussion went off the rails when others took it upon themselves to berate her for that, as if it were somehow a moral crime to be conventionally attractive. That and dismiss her concerns- that because she belonged to a "privileged" group, she had little to no right to complain about her problem.In that mess, the real issue got brushed aside- that sexual harassment is a problem for everyone, regardless of how they look. And it can happen to everyone. And nobody should have to be afraid to use transit because they're afraid of being victimized by some foulmouthed neanderthal.

My least favourite word is 'incident' especially on the train announcements near here - e.g. "This train is delayed due to an earlier incident" which gives me no information at all! There was recently a small fire on a train while I was on my way to work. The power was cut to all trains in the area for a few minutes so everything got delayed. The driver of the train I was on kept us up-to-date with what was happening but when I got off, the announcer was just saying that all trains in the area were delayed after an 'incident' with no other information.

Jumping in decidedly late: but -- I'm a person who tends to hold grudges lifelong (not approved of on the etiquette scene, I know): some forty years ago, I was greatly offended by the use toward me of "flabbergasted", by a person with whom I was in an adversarial situation in which I thought -- and continue to think -- I was in the right. From then till now, that has caused me to loathe the "flabbergasted" word, and anything derived from it. Not rational. not logical, not sensible -- but I see myself hating the word and its derivations -- and never, ever using it myself -- even if I should live to the age of 120.

My least favourite word is 'incident' especially on the train announcements near here - e.g. "This train is delayed due to an earlier incident" which gives me no information at all! There was recently a small fire on a train while I was on my way to work. The power was cut to all trains in the area for a few minutes so everything got delayed. The driver of the train I was on kept us up-to-date with what was happening but when I got off, the announcer was just saying that all trains in the area were delayed after an 'incident' with no other information.

I do not see what is wrong with the word inciden here. Do you really expect them to tell you what has happened exactly? Incident gives all the relevant information about what has happened to everybody not involved with the incident.

Your annoyance seems to be not with the word incidence, but with the fact that they will not satisfy your curiosity. What would it have helped the people on the platform that the incident was a fire? Nothing at all, the delays would still be there, the only difference it would make is that people have somethong extra to talk and speculate about amongst themselves.

The only other information they need to give is that there are delays, and how long the delays will take.

My least favourite word is 'incident' especially on the train announcements near here - e.g. "This train is delayed due to an earlier incident" which gives me no information at all! There was recently a small fire on a train while I was on my way to work. The power was cut to all trains in the area for a few minutes so everything got delayed. The driver of the train I was on kept us up-to-date with what was happening but when I got off, the announcer was just saying that all trains in the area were delayed after an 'incident' with no other information.

Actually, my experience says that "incident" usually gives you a pretty good clue that the problem is a bit more serious than a signal failure.

If it's a technical failure (or line-side vandalisation), they tend to say so. (The number of times I've heard "Sorry for the delay which was caused by thieves stealing the signaling cable" is really quite disturbing!)

If it's because of a crash/fire/something serious that they don't want people to talk about/cause a panic over, it's called an "incident".

And look on the bright side, at least they're telling you SOMETHING! Having been involved in a (minor) train crash, where we were stuck in the middle-of-nowhere Ohio for six hours without any actual announcement of what happened OR how long we were going to be stuck there, I'll take "incident" any day!

As for expressions I'd like to see the back of I don't think I have one. Though I would gladly do without txt spk (as a whole). Does that count?

Also, another one that bothers me is "As a *insert group*. Mostly I hear "As a parent *opinion on something non-parent related*". Just because I've chosen not to have kids does not make your opinion more valid than mine. Specifically, there was an article about an avenue in my town that is well-known for its bar scene. Men urinating in the gutters, alleys and sidewalks after the bars closed and they were on their way home/waiting for taxis had become a problem to the point where the city decided to install permanent free-standing enclosed public urinals along the avenue to cut down on the problem. One woman objected" As a parent, I don't want my three-year-old son to see that." See...what? A urinal? And what would you be doing on the avenue at three in the morning with your toddler? Being a parent doesn't really have anything to do with anything in this particular case.

"As a..." also drives me nuts because it always kind of feels like if you don't think this, then you're not a real X. Like, if someone said "As a feminist, I think this smutty book should be banned." If I don't want the book banned, am I not a real feminist? It feels like people are trying to speak for the whole group, to speak with the weight of the whole group, even if the group is not actually that monolithic.

Another example that comes up here every year is that somebody's neighbor will say "As a Christian, I don't celebrate Halloween" to the Christian ehellion who is celebrating Halloween as they speak.